With Christmas fast approaching, it is filled both with happiness as well as loneliness. For some, meeting up with the family and friends is a joyous occasion, whilst others dread meeting the in-laws. There are people who will overspend on the credit card, resulting in a Christmas hangover. Two friends of mine will feel the loneliness, with one bereaved and another one a lost soul due to his wife now in a care home unable to recognise anyone. There will still be hundreds living rough out on the streets wondering where it all went wrong.

For me, I try my utmost to enjoy it but never sitting comfortable due to things that happened in the past. In truth, I just look forward to the New Year.

Xmas is for kids,the whole build up ie decorations too early,people filling their shopping trolleys as if there will be food shortages within 2 days just makes me laugh,for me its a welcome 10 days holiday,i understand the bereaved thing but thats every day nowt to do with xmas

Xmas is for kids,the whole build up ie decorations too early,people filling their shopping trolleys as if there will be food shortages within 2 days just makes me laugh,for me its a welcome 10 days holiday,i understand the bereaved thing but thats every day nowt to do with xmas

With regard to the bereaved, it's perhaps at Christmas that people feel the loss most, especially if it's their first time without a loved one.

Xmas is for kids,the whole build up ie decorations too early,people filling their shopping trolleys as if there will be food shortages within 2 days just makes me laugh,for me its a welcome 10 days holiday,i understand the bereaved thing but thats every day nowt to do with xmas

I agree with all that except the bereaved bit. With Christmas always being portrayed as such a family oriented thing it can really bring home the loss of a close family member. More so if they died at that time of year. I know, I lost my dad in December, his funeral was on Christmas Eve. For years it was a strange feeling, like the whole world was having a party to which you've not been invited.

"it is a well known fact that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it."

The last 2 Christmases have been difficult for us for very different reasons. Two years ago my wife's nan was admitted to hospital on Christmas Eve, we went to visit on Christmas Day and as often as we could, she passed away shortly after new year.

a year on we visited her husband Len on Christmas Eve and though frail he seemed in good spirits. He was admitted to hospital on Christmas Day and passed away on the 30th. What made it worse was that no one bothered telling us he'd been admitted (and in fact it was only 2 days after he died we found out).

Admitted though we had distractions as my wife gave birth to our second son on Christmas Day at 2050 hrs (poor sods going to have awkward birthdays, our eldest called him Jesus for a week, and I'm a secular humanist)

So it's going to be a bit of a roller coaster this year. We've chosen to visit my parents in Tenerife.

I imagine the law of averages dictates that as you go through life various events both good and bad are bound to happen around Christmas time which will change the way you feel about the season either for a short time or maybe forever. Like Riding Pie my eldest was born at Christmas and that shaped the way Christmas was for us for a few years as I tried to make sure his birthday was celebrated as far in advance of Christmas day as I could to make it special for him. Eight years ago he married and took the Muslim faith which changed our Christmas dynamics yet again. My worst Christmas was when my daughter’s boyfriend joined the very many other 27 year olds and took his own life on Christmas day three years ago. The last three Christmases have been sombre affairs for us. Happily this year she has a gorgeous 10 month old daughter to think about and has gone all out with preparations for the family to be at her new home to celebrate. Naturally as you get older there are more and more friends and family members missing around the festive table. All in all you have to take the good Christmases (which I think for most outweigh the bad ones hopefully) and enjoy them as you never know what fate is planning for you just around the corner.

The irony that Christmas can't console us is a reflection of the lack of connection to the original concept of Christmas. When everyone got 1 day off, there would always be a positive reason to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It's now a full month spent worshiping at the altar of consumerism. One hell of a depressive reality I'm happy to miss out on.

The irony that Christmas can't console us is a reflection of the lack of connection to the original concept of Christmas. When everyone got 1 day off, there would always be a positive reason to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It's now a full month spent worshiping at the altar of consumerism. One hell of a depressive reality I'm happy to miss out on.

I long ago reconciled myself to the fact that we are celebrating two things over the Christmas/mid-winter festival: the birth of the son of God as marked by the dominant religion of our society, and an ancient religious and cultural celebration that marks the turning point of the dark winter.

Those who have Christianity as a big part of their lives will know what to do to safeguard their spiritual selves: be generous, warm and kind to their family and friends, anticipate and celebrate the coming of Christ and, when necessary, find that quiet spot and time to meditate on the true meaning of Christmas.

But there are other things to be done...

As people of a northern European land, in the middle of the winter that is dark, miserable, cold and often very wet, we need a celebration to counteract the drudgery. The good thing about the feasting, partying and general merriment around the great Solstice festival is that it gets us though it all. We look forward to a time when we can throw off life's normal behaviours and have just a short period where we can let loose. Eat, drink, dance, celebrate! And, when it is all over we can then look forward to the coming of spring and life's rebirth.

"There are now more Trident submarines based in Scotland than there are MPs to vote for them."

Wholeheartedly agree with MH's last bit - the 'God' bit of Christmas long since disappeared for me, but you need some kind of celebration to keep you going for the winter.

I'm looking forward to the break, to getting back to Blighty and seeing my close family. We have in recent years instituted a new tradition of eschewing the extended family obligations and holing up in rented cottages in the Peak District. Get loads of beer and good food in, go on some nice walks and cosy up in a few country pubs. Get some reading done.

I can confirm 30+ less sales for Scotland vs Italy at Workington, after this afternoons test purchase for the Tonga match, £7.50 is extremely reasonable, however a £2.50 'delivery' fee for a walk in purchase is beyond taking the mickey, good luck with that, it's cheaper on the telly.

And, for me personally as a postie, Christmas is just one long slog. Massive amounts of mail to deliver, dealing with the cold and damp, slippy roads and pavements, long hours (plenty of overtime!! ), lots and lots of manual sorting as the machines can't cope with the workload, not getting home until it's nearly time to go out to work again, Manic Monday - usually the day after the last shopping weekend, the cold biting into your fingers and toes...

But also the excitement. The community gradually dressing itself up with lights and tinsel, most of the envelopes containing messages of hope and love, delivering things people actually want to be delivered, seeing the kids becoming more and more hyper, the cake and biscuits and endless supplies of tea and coffee supplied by management (and customers) to see us through the long hours of sorting, collection runs where the mail is so crammed into boxes that you almost have to wrench it out, eventually deliverying that packet from Amazon that a customer has been asking you about for days...

The early finish (hopefully) on Christmas Eve, by which time the mail has hopefully dropped off, the final emptying of the post boxes (containing someone's last minute Christmas cards!), and, finally getting home and collapsing into a chair!

"There are now more Trident submarines based in Scotland than there are MPs to vote for them."

Wholeheartedly agree with MH's last bit - the 'God' bit of Christmas long since disappeared for me, but you need some kind of celebration to keep you going for the winter.

I'm looking forward to the break, to getting back to Blighty and seeing my close family. We have in recent years instituted a new tradition of eschewing the extended family obligations and holing up in rented cottages in the Peak District. Get loads of beer and good food in, go on some nice walks and cosy up in a few country pubs. Get some reading done.

That's a great way of celebrating - overindulge and then get out for some light exercise in the fresh air to recover; then repeat until your knackered (or you have to go home/back to work).

"There are now more Trident submarines based in Scotland than there are MPs to vote for them."

I'm not a big fan of Christmas. But this year our grandaughter will be 15 months old and she's just started to walk and can talk a bit, so we're looking forward to it. As for the goose getting fat, we'd never had goose before but we had it Christmas 2010.
We followed all the instructions, pricked it all over, and cooked it upside down on a rack with a meat tray underneath, and it did produce copious amounts of fat - we had goose fat roasted potatoes for about 18 months afterwards - but the bird itself was tough as old boots - almost inedible.
We gave some of the meat to our daughter's dog and it wolfed down the first portion - but it wouldn't touch the rest!! We didn't bother with poultry last year as there were only three of us. However, it's back to turkey this year!
We've had some bad experiences at Christmas too, I won't go inot detail but enough ot put us both off the festive season, but hopefully this year will be a little better.

"This is a very wealthy country, money is no object" D. Cameron February 2014

I'm not a big fan of Christmas. But this year our grandaughter will be 15 months old and she's just started to walk and can talk a bit, so we're looking forward to it. As for the goose getting fat, we'd never had goose before but we had it Christmas 2010.We followed all the instructions, pricked it all over, and cooked it upside down on a rack with a meat tray underneath, and it did produce copious amounts of fat - we had goose fat roasted potatoes for about 18 months afterwards - but the bird itself was tough as old boots - almost inedible.We gave some of the meat to our daughter's dog and it wolfed down the first portion - but it wouldn't touch the rest!! We didn't bother with poultry last year as there were only three of us. However, it's back to turkey this year!We've had some bad experiences at Christmas too, I won't go inot detail but enough ot put us both off the festive season, but hopefully this year will be a little better.

I once ended up buying four turkey's due to wrong instructions given from my wife (that's my take on it anyhow). I would say we were well and truly stuffed getting through them.

Just one here for Methven Hornet. A postie featured on TV recently to discuss the horrific scars on his legs as a result of two dogs attacking him on his round. It was said, there are about 5,000 attacks a year, with no recompense if it happens on private property.

I once ended up buying four turkey's due to wrong instructions given from my wife (that's my take on it anyhow). I would say we were well and truly stuffed getting through them.

We have the habit of haunting Asda on the last couple of hours before closing for Christmas - you can sometimes pick up some really bargains, fillet steak at dirt cheap prices was one prize - although it's a good job I played rugby - some of the women get really vicious sharp elbows and and shoulder charges. Last year we bought a really cheap fresh turkey - it's been in our freezer all year. Let's hope it's ok or we'll be in for a big disappointment

"This is a very wealthy country, money is no object" D. Cameron February 2014

Just one here for Methven Hornet. A postie featured on TV recently to discuss the horrific scars on his legs as a result of two dogs attacking him on his round. It was said, there are about 5,000 attacks a year, with no recompense if it happens on private property.

Yes, examples like this are horrific. Fortunately the law has been changed in Scotland so we do have that extra bit of protection, but hopefully England will follow shortly. I am reasonably comfortable with dogs, and can usually spot potential danger. The default is that you don't take chances: if there's a dog loose and you don't know it, or are not completely sure it's safe, you don't enter the premises.

And, anyway, most of the dogs on the duties I cover are putty in my hands - it's the cats I've got to watch!

"There are now more Trident submarines based in Scotland than there are MPs to vote for them."

I'll be working at Christmas so I think it will be mid January before I get most pressies or a christmas meal. Saves on the rushing around I suppose!

With the best, thats a good bit of PR, though I would say the Bedford team, theres, like, you know, 13 blokes who can get together at the weekend to have a game together, which doesnt point to expansion of the game. Point, yeah go on!